Early Landing Comparison Game #1

[Scouse Gits]

Originally posted by solo
Speaking of bribes, I tried something new in this game by using a diplomat to bribe Iswandlhara away from the Zulus for 488 gold. A nice (and instant) size three colony that came with a harbor, trireme, warrior, catapult and two elephants, plus 72 gold back in tribute!

Yes, I have made a similar move. In my game the Barbs captured Tenochtitlan but the Aztecs seemed to ignore it and just moved their capital. It grew to size 7 which was too much of a temptation! Alas no city improvements ... but an "oven ready" colony

----------------------

SG(2)

[rjmatsleepers]

Originally posted by solo
rjmatsleepers,

I hope things are sorted out okay for you, because 2.42 is the way to go when playing these comparison games. As a newcomer, and considering the handicaps you encountered in the first game, I think we can cut you a little slack, and allow a second attempt.

As far as I can tell, things are now sorted and I have 2.42 in one folder and FW in another. BTW what are the differences - apart from the ones I have already discovered?

Thanks for the dispensation. However have I already restarted in FW (just for fun) without keeping a log. I better not start yet again in 2.42. (Just imagine all that knowledge of the map and still landing in 2019 ) I'll join in the next early landing comparison - if we have one .

Thanks for all the help - particularly SG[1]

RJM at Sleepers

[solo]

Welcome to Monk,

No starting techs makes things harder, but the great SSC site is very good compensation.

BTW, what is the Wheel of Time series about?

SG(2),

What do it cost you to bribe Teno from the barbs? I can not remember if bribing barb cities is cheaper, which I would expect, since their units are much cheaper to bribe than corresponding AI units.

RJM,

I have not used FW so maybe SG(1) can tell you of other differences.

Have fun practicing and learning. I remember playing many practice OCC games in order to learn that system of play. The diplomacy part of it took quite awhile to get good at. I must have tried the 4 whales game about 10 times until I started producing results similar to Paul's and the other OCC master players.

[SCG]

Practice is really all I'm doing in this game right now. I did get one round where everything fell into place, I got 3 consecutive demanded gold deliveries from my SSC, and managed to fully understand the idea of unblocking commodities (I got my first 1-round tech in that time frame) Of course i completely have been ignoring the AI for trading - i still have only met 3 civs (I'm trying my best to follow the way of the Leaf Not much of a true Aiel in this game unfortunately, but is what is needed to succeed with this strategy.) Sorry, WoT reference

[Scouse Gits]

solo Tenochtitlan under the Red Flag cost 346g. I was badly in need of another overseas city having only one previously. I was hoping that the Aztecs may have founded the place in 4000BC which would have meant that it was processed last in the City Status build order so acting as a beaker overflow from the SSC (Rome) ... alas no!

------------------

SG(2)

[La Fayette]

aaaaaaaaaargh! 1803!
I didn't even manage to beat 1800 !

(
(La Fayette, ready to try and understand the modern trading techniques)

[SlowThinker]

Originally posted by solo
SG(2),

What do it cost you to bribe Teno from the barbs? I can not remember if bribing barb cities is cheaper, which I would expect, since their units are much cheaper to bribe than corresponding AI units.

There is no difference between barb and non-barb units/cities. See the appropriate thread.

[solo]

Hmm, let's try a barb horseman first ...

[solo]

Now let's try the English one ...

[solo]

Zulu's have the best horsemen around, I guess ...

[solo]

Sorry that the diplomat blinked out of sight in the last one, but what I am missing and which thread is it that will refute these examples?

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

@solo - the thread is 'info - diplomats and spies' which ST bumped today, in this forum.

I think he refers to the idea that barb cities/units are not cheaper than non barb cities/units - if there is no palace in the latter's civ. But it's late and I'm going from memory here... the thread is a better place to look, probably.

[SCG]

just did a couple quick tests, if the civ is in anarchy, and has no palace and no gold (or is far enough away from the palace that corruption is dominant), a foreign unit will cost the same as a barb unit.

giving it a palace close by drives the cost through the roof. as does giving the civ lots of gold

[SCG]

version 2.42
AC 1926

First thoughts:
No known techs - means AI thinks we have good food land and no one in the immediate vicinity, also medium map. Also, we're on continent 1, so no way to know where the land ends and the oceans starts Looks like 26 land masses plus the poles. With no one near, I'm wondering if i can break 1500 or not
Its going to take some effort to remember not to tip huts - especially with one visible on the river too... would have been real nice to get a horsie from that, but then we're trying to eliminate that portion of randomness. So, off we go. With the SSC site location pre-suggested and no huts, first round movement is almost predetermined

BC years
3950: Found Home, let archeologists of the future dig in our cellars to see what was in the hut First big decision - fish (halve science turns) or river (halve warrior turns) - we need exploring units especially when we're likely alone, so plains. Second big decision - where to put first helper city. If we're looking at size 8 or smaller, then the option for 1 turn deliveries to Home by river would mean build south of wine now. Found Work, choose to work wine for extra early science - will change worker in Home to fish for 1 turn to get 3 turns for first tech.
3900: choose Alphabet
3850: change worker to fish in Home, change Work worker to river (science stays the same, increase production and food at expense of gold)
3800: discover Alphabet, choose Code of Laws, now 22 beakers for science... can produce a max of 4, place worker back on river (after moving Work worker back to Wine)
3750: option to buy warriors at 6 of 11 gold - purchace Home warrior, rearrange (3/22)
3700: Home builds warrior (finds a wine), change to settler, Purchace warrior at Work, rearrange (7/21)
3650: explore
3600: ...
3550:
3500: discover Code of Laws, now 33 beakers to Writing, rush 2nd warrior from Work to use at Home
3400: Home to size 2, tickle settlers
3300: Work size 2, rearrange for push for Writing (19/33, 7 beakers per turn)
3250: (26/33)
3200: Writing, start Horseback Riding since Ceremonial Burial is in the same category as Republic in hopes of reducing a tech, and to get the 2-row tickle
3050: meet Mongols, trade CoL for Horseback Riding!, hold off on tech gifting as apparently i only have 1 tech they don't so can't get to worshipful, tickle settlers at Home
3000: start Literacy, tickle settlers at Home
2900: (42/60)
2850: tickle setters at Work, (49/60), rearrange workers as Work can't produce 4 beakers
2800: Pliny calls our technology Pathetic and the Mongols tech as Hopeless, tickle settlers at Home
2750: Literacy, start Republic, tech cost now 78, hope to get settlers reproducing soon, but not enough food for regrowth to 2 yet, decide to sacrifice science for food for a couple turns
2600: Settlers produced at Home
2550: support Work warriors from Home to prevent disbanding
2500: Settlers produced at Work
2450: decide access to fish and wine and 3 spaces from Home is better than a canal... hope i don't regret it, Play founded, 25/78 to republic, 9 beakers per turn
2350: checks Oedo years as 43/72 -
2300: gift Literacy and writing to Mongols and turn down their offer of pottery, they go from uncooperative to Neutral, F3 says i'm still supreme and tech rate stays the same?
2250: F3 says I'm still Supreme, and mongols have more techs than i do, yet i'm still needing 72 beakers - i think i'm missing something here - 10 beakers from Republic and just missed an Oedo year... Cut science and raise production and taxes for 3 turns...
2050: Republic, Revolt, Caeser proclaimed Consul , Warriors disbanded at Home towards Library/Temple, tax rate adjusted for push for temples
2000: disband other 2 warrior towards library/temple, leaving 1 settler as lone military unit, 68 gold for emergencies
1850: Play at 2, party preparations begin at Home
1800: discover Ceremonial Burial, choose Bronze Working, finish temples at Work and Home, Home at 3
1750: Home throws a Parade
1700: Chinese build palace in Shanghai?
1650: Home size 5, party dies down
1550: Bronzeworking... begin Mysticism
1500: spot mongol units near Play, rush temple at Play and gift 3 techs to Mongols - they're up to Uncooperative, this could be a long game with the Mongols being so unfriendly..., tech rate doesn't change either, dispite my Supreme rating

Pausing for thought, Techs are decent, good to be in republic, but i really need more cities, and need trade. Look to Xinning for possible solutions - 1/6/3 brings 13+3+5=21 science, net 1 gold. Xinning allows 2/8/0 and 18+6+4=28 science, net 2 gold or 26 and net 3 gold... consider Xining for a couple turns to get mysticism since is still 117 beakers, though just using 4 scientists and a roaded wine, rearrange workers at Work and Play 30 science, net 2 gold and production for settlers at work.
1350: end Xinning to recoup food
1300: resume
1250: Mysticism, begin Currency, content enough now to be as productive without Xinning for now
1150: start Vacation with Whales, although not a lot of other useful stuff
1000: Currency, start Trade
950: Phalanx at Play, after spotting Mongols outside
925: Settlers at Work, start preparing for caravans, start wishing i had triremes to see what other Special at Home And Play is
875: Purchace rest of library to be ready for next turn
850: Trade, choose Mapmaking, start School between Work and Play - find that the bison are already in use.
Pausing again - we have 4 helper cities, although only 1 is really a helper of production, the other 3 are doing more science than building - i really need to get a couple more settlers improving terrain so we can get the caravans out. In the mean time, decide to invite a few more people over for a party at Home
775: Additions to Home make 7
750: see more mongols, Hostile again - gift 3 more techs - tech rate actually drops this time from 180 beakers to 156... (per rating still says i'm supreme, out of techs again, and still can't get even to neutral... I'll be lucky to beat some of my OCC games with this sort of luck with the AI
725: Mapmaking choose Philosophy, warrior at School just in case., beakers back up to 195..., change caravan at Home to trireme (i really would like that special - even if its fish, but preferably whales)
675: barbs land and kill Mongolian settlers nearby, meet 3 Mongol horsemen between School and Work and are Icy again... no new techs to gift, issue several levies on the learned, retrain settlers to be diplomats, recall warriors from Vacation
650: its fish... Well, I'm using 2 ordinary ocean squares, so its an improvement, even if not for shields...
625: Mongols insist that i have insulted then on multiple occasions, and declare war, bribe horseman with entire treasury, decide to start colony on northern island for trade...
600: produce headless horseman from mongol attacker near School, use for exhibits in science project
525: 2 more horsemen wish to try their luck - er, they were a phalanx and a horseman on a river, we are badly damaged but we survive, tickle several units everywhere.
500: Settlers from Play take an ocean cruise, tickle more units
475: Pretty Beads produced by local artisans at Home
375: beads sold to Vacationers for 56 gold
350: Philosophy, Banking, start Medicine
325: Hides brought home from Vacation for 56 gold, rush marketplace for Play
300: Wool for Exotic Vacation for 84 gold, Play plays
275: Several Mongol phalanxes charge to School, to little avail
250: several more mongol phalanxes and horsemen fail in charges, though still just the vet horsemen, and a couple of those were close., Play stops playing at 5
225: Mongols decide to offer peace.
tickle many units
125: beads produced at Exotic Vacation
50: beads brought to School (60 gold), more tickling
25: marketplace in Vacation, celebration...
AD Years
1: Some English monarch was beheaded by the Zulu nation... this is a violent world i'm in, not making it easy for me to sit back and trade
20: Masonry, choose Construction, Silver awarded from School taken Home (60 gold), Gold somehow now supplied to 2 different cities from Home, freeing Beads, beads not demanded by known cities though, much tickling
60: noticed Beijing is the #4 city, and controlled by Barbarians - its a dangerous world..., much tickling
100: Dye produced at Work
140: Construction, Choose Mathematics, gift Construction to Mongols, no change in #beakers required... (324), gift everything and is down to 270, but only cordial... You'd think i was playing MGE with these attitudes
160: Vacationers discover T-Dyeing of shirts, 28 Gold..., much tickling
180: establish embassy with Mongols... they have 3 cities
200: some tickling
220: rush aquaduct at Home, Home size 8
240: hmm, Coal now demanded by Home, deliver 5 caravans to an English Bard (in exile from Zulu captivity), decide to deliver the 6th one as well, will have another coal shortly
260: Shakespeare gets a Home Theater, and throws a party arty:
300: Mathematics, Choose Astronomy, Coal heats Home (140),
320: Food stored up preparing for an all-nighter staring at the sky
340: Herodotus calls us the largest Nation of the World, Mongols 3rd... (Can i restart? Mongols have all of 4 cities and I can still fit my entire explored world on standard zoom ) I still haven't been able to get Pottery from the Mongols either - maybe I'll try and see if they want to trade (again) - they tried to brag rather than trade when the got monarchy - hmm, they're researching seafaring - 2/3s of my cities really can use harbors
360: Astronomy Choose University, reissue Levy to boost Camel futures
380: Mongols discover Seafaring, gift Mathematics and Astronomy , get seafaring, only to receptive, partially rush harbor at Play (have 2 turns to complete or adopt a settler at home or work - mongol horsemen preventing irrigation...)
400: Zulu's build Hanging Gardens - knocks Beijing down to the #5 in the world, rush harbor at Play, more tickling
420: more tickling, Temple, worship allowed in School
440: neutral Mongol emmisary backed by the mathematics i gave him declares war without chance of discussion..., rebuild treasury at expense of science again... switch production to catapults and city walls for School Play, and Vacation
460: no cats seen yet, though Mongol settlers are running interference in a couple places
500: City walls at School, mongols kill Phalanx at play, trireme finishes him off (change to phalanx and rushed), cat spotted outside Vacation, horseman rushed, Home has lots of food delivered for a night of staring at the stars...
520: Vacationer horsemen drive off catapult, catapult near school retreats?, Play starts City walls, School rushes tickles a cat (science at 504 beakers...)
540: barb trireme spawns, arrives and lands 3? barb archers (no leader?) eyeing an undefended Exotic Vacation, panic reigns on the island as silk is stolen from the natives, Play threatened by mongolian horsemen again, diplomat starts Home Training, another diplomat recalled from School, can't afford city walls yet, hope fortified green phalanx can survive this round, move trireme Home, School cat learns from unsettling experience, but is out of action for a couple turns, School starts barracks

[understatement]At this time I am now convinced this is not going to be an early landing game[/understatement] I have an Observatory that isn't even being used (some scientists took up residency there, but i fell short on the military budget and may lose Play, so they have gone fishing instead...)

560: hostile takeover in Exotic Vaction, trade routes to it double 2 special agents dispatched, City walls rushed to Play
580: Phalanx more experienced at Play, using city walls now, mongol horseman Schooled on use of walls, special agents kidnap and brainwash reeducate archers.
600: more archers reeducated, mongol cat Schooled on use of defensive terrain, School barracks rushed, notice that Mongols had pillaged their own mines as a settler is rebuilding them (shared terrain, I never got a chance to use them )
620: Exotic Vacation now available for tourists again
640: Mongol legion waylays roads putting Vacation plans in jeopardy
660: legion intrigued by fast talking and reeducated

Ok, threat is contained, and we have a military presence, including a vet catapult, 2 vet horsemen, 2 vet phalanxes and 2 non archers. we have a barracks and/or city walls in 3 helper cities, and haven't discovered techs in 300 years. We're 4th in land area, and first in population with less than 1 million people. We've fallen to mighty from supreme and beaker research has gone up 20% thanks to an aggressive Zulu tribe wiping the English from the face of the earth. Not exactly what i had in mind when i set out for an early landing Going to finish a couple more defensive structures and then see if i can pick this republic back up off of the mat.

I think I'll just post highlights of the 2nd half of the game in the 2nd post

[SCG]

840: University, choose Theory of Gravity, Vikings build Great Library - the're likely going to get a lot of techs in a couple turns
860: another trireme and 3 barb archers (and no leader) spawn within city limits of Exotic Vacation, sell harbor to get gold, diplomat is 1 movement short to get to any archers... Scientists get paid holiday, attempt to get extorted as harbor got us to 65 gold (we only had 35 when captured)
880: Zulu's build Colossus, barb archer dies to green fortified warrior behind walls, barb leader pillages irrigation i had moved legion towards to keep archer from... kill barb leader (150 gold), try and remove the shadows near Exotic Vacation, do a bit of tickling
940: harbor rebuilt at Exotic Vacation... I need more boats, i need more caravans, i could use some more cities too..., various tickling to speed things along
1000: Coal (undemanded) for Play (32), trying to unblock demanded goods - no good - wrong route from Exotic Vacation was kept... Gonna have to use scientists at Home to keep the food supply,
1040: Theory of Gravity, choose Wheel, more tickling
1100: Hides (80) shown off in Exotic Vacation, Beads become more abundant as a result (and 2 Coal routes)
1120: Find Kashgar where i was sending Vacationing settlers, recall special agent from Work, much tickling
1140: Mongols offer Monarchy... we're still mighty, and only other tech is Pottery, and we've got Seafaring now - politely decline
1160: Beads brought Home (152), Go shopping, buy Kashgar for 86x2, get 25 cash back find Mongols have yet another city there as well, more tickling, rename to Shopping, still mighty... probably should have taken Monarchy instead of Pottery...
1200: Hides (104) Shown off on Exotic Vacation
1220: Wheel choose Chemistry, should have built a road from School to Play, would cut 2-3 turns off deliveries, start work now on that now (Gold can be delivered to Exotic Vacation and not replace a Home run)
1260: Gold (156) to Exotic Vacation, Nishapur subverted, renamed The Mall, choose Monarchy (only other mongol tech)
1280: trireme from Exotic Vacation to increase delivery speed, scientist at Home to preserve food, still Mighty
1360: Chemistry, choose Engineering, Wine taken on Vacation (54), Gold freed at School, rush gold caravan
1400: Gold to Exotic Vacation(156), some tickling
1420: Engineeering, Choose Sanitation, much herding of 2 Mongol settlers..., beakers at 896 (still mighty)
1500: Vikings build lighthouse, Mongols get chivalry (iron working earlier) from greeks, Sanitation, choose Economics, beakers at 928...
1540: Isaac Newton's College completed, still mightly, still 2nd in poplulation, probably to Zulus, more tickling, Mongols demand chemistry, pass on the demand...
1560: Economics, choose Invention, beakers now at 990..., much tickling
1570: Coal heats Home, frees Gold, Work grows, frees gold, not quite enough to rush both caravans..., Home 18, #1 in pop, still mighty...
1600: We Love (Shopping), Invention, choose Democracy, Home size 21, beakers now 1023..., more gold (demanded, 87) for Exotic Vacation, much tickling
1610: Mongols revolt to Monarchy, break peace and send knights against School walls, cancel plans to send demanded Dye to Samarkand...,
1620: convice Mongol legion, knights in armour cannot be trusted, decide i should have chosen navigation over Demo, issues another levy. also realize i never finished that catapult at Play..., lose phalanx and trireme at Play, but kill catapult and wound knights enough to run out of movement. bribe knight, sell temple at Home (had forgotten about that one), bribe 2nd knight, build fortress by NONE archers in forest, move legion into fortress
1630: bribe knight (NONE), must be within Bokhara city limits because still at Play too, and wouldn't likely be able to afford Karakorum knights, stumble onto Bokhara forest, hope to survive - plan hostile takeover...
1660: mongol knight wastes itself on knight in forest
1670: Infiltrate Bokhara, rename War Games, capture Iron Working, plan to placate Samarkand - civs are much less agressive when just 1 city (usually) - maybe i can finally trade with them. War Games is nice, if lacking roads (City walls, barracks, marketplace, colosseum, 2 vet phalanxes) - needs roads or a temple though, bribe phalanx in fortress outside Samarkand, move legion in, beakers up to 1056... Mongols sign cease fire, don't offer peace...
1680: Samarakand is 1080 gold... rethink purchaces, still mighty..., Play safe to irrigate now...
1690: decide to make push for Samarkand... i simply don't trust the Mongols with more than 1 city
1700: Party at Home, Exotic Vacation reproduces,
1710: Home 23, Mongols study School entrance exams, expecting a sneak attack, should have gold to purchace Samarkand next turn
1720: ignore Mongol foreign minister, they retreat?
1730: mongols go back to School
1740: diplomat graduates from School, notice Mongols are receptive- gift 3 techs, and exchange maps! Wonder where the mongols met the greeks, I only see 1 Zulu city... still mighty, beakers down to 1024, we have enough to buy Samarkand when they revolt again, notice missed oedo year, purchace a couple needed structures
1754: aim for Oedo discovery of Democracy at Home
1756: I'm way behind timewise, but got a perfect timing - Mongols sneak attack, discover, revolt and become Democracychoose Gunpowder, reeducate NONE settlers, convince Samarkand of error of its ways, rename Over There, bring in a couple barb chariots loitering near The Mall, much tickling
1758: Zulus build Magellans
1762: Leonardo's Workshop, Gunpowder at Home, much upgrading, still Mighty, choose Explosives
1768: Explosives, choose Bridge Building, we're supreme again beakers at 1008
1770: Zulus build Great Wall, fall to mighty again, beakers at 1188
1772: Wine (demanded, 50) taken to Work, Wool brought Home (undemanded, 30)
1774: Bridgebuilding, choose Metalurgy, Spice (124) arives Home from Shopping (plants image of Sporty and Ginger with many bags over their shoulders ), much tickling, Work send Coal (87) to Karakorum
1778: Metalurgy, choose Physics
1782: new Silver brought home from Shopping (102), Wine brought to Work(77) from home, much tickling
1784: Physics, choose Polytheism, beakers at 1365, still mighty... probably could have built MPE, and gifted lots of stuff to the Greeks, resigned to just playing out the game right now - have a large tech lead and long ago gave up thoughts of early landing, and still behind my OCC#1 log on dates
1790: Polytheism, choose Steam Engine, beakers at 1400
1792: Copper to Karakorum (demanded, 70)... recreates demand for gold
1794: Exotic Vacation Gold to Karakorum (demanded, 288!), gold stays demanded
1796: Steam Engine, choose Railroad, enslave stray phalanx, put to work in camel farms
1800: Railroad, choose Industrialization, Spice brought Home(102) from Over There, much tickling
1802: Aztecs build MPE
1804: Gems aquired from War Games for Shopping (72), some tickling, railroad finished between Home and School
1806: Industrialization, choose Conscription, Coal(48) from Over There heats Home, frees gold, much tickling
1808: Party Over There, railroad completed from Home all the way to Over There , some ticking
1810: We Love (Shopping), Conscription, choose Corporation, Gold to Karakorum (168), gold demand stays, rush gold caravans in 2 cities, exploring diplomat finds irrigation in the far east
1812: find Red China, diplomat retreats, ponders uses of a Barbarian great wall that protects me from China , old School gold (102), gold (90) from Over There delivered to Karakorum, gold now blocked, no cities producing demanded goods for that city, much tickling
1814: Red China falls to Mao's armies peace with China, discover Corporation, choose Monotheism, embassy in Beijing, Chinese have 15 techs, railroad now completed to Work, Oil(40) brought Home from The Mall, beakers at 1620..., some tickling
1816: Vikings build Michaelangelo's Chapel, railroad completed to The Mall from Vacation, and from Home to Play, leaving just Vacation (from Work), War Games to Play, and Shopping from The Mall for complete domestic transportation,
1820: Monotheism, choose Communism
1822: Darwin pulls an all-nighter, consuming much food
1824: Darwin's Voyage, Commumism, Refining, choose Combustion, beakers at 1776, Dye(60) to Exotic Vacation
1828: Combustion, choose Magnetism
1832: Gold (188) to The Mall from Home, Cloth (75) to Play from Over There, Coal (85) for Shopping from School
1834: Bede still rates me just Great, Mongols now Pathetic, Chinese hopeless, Magnetism, choose Flight, oil (33) Home from Work, some tickling
1836: gold to Karakorum..., Gems (210), for Shopping back from Exotic Vacation, frees copper
1838: Flight, ignore advisor who wants to build archers and choose electricity, some tickling
1840: Oil(43) Home from School, Wine(50) from Over There to Work, Copper (110) Karakorum from Exotic Vacation
1846: Electricity, choose Electronics, Copper (128), Coal (74) to Karakorum, beakers at 2028, Wine (64) to Karakorum..., Cloth(104) to Exotic Vacation
1848: Electronics, choose Refrigeration. Copper (83) Over There, Wool(75) taken on Exotic Vacation, beakers at 2067
1851: Refrigeration, choose Steel, Gems (142) Shopping
1853: Gold (53), Gold, (164) to karakorum... 2nd gold removed Dye demand, Dye retreats to Vacation (45), Cloth to Exotic Vacation (94)
1854: Vikings build Statue of Liberty, we discover Steel, choose [i]Espionage[/b] (bypassed superhighways to upgrade 2 diplomats...)
1856: Vikings build Adam Smith's
1857: Espionage, choose Radio
1858: Chinese develop Philosophy
1860: Radio, choose Automobile
1862: Automobile, choose Mass Production, beakers at 2320
1864: start completing superhighways,
1865: Aztecs build Eiffel Tower
1866: Mass Production, choose Atomic Theory
1867: Contact with Zulus, and have war declared :hmm: kill catapult with cannon
1868: Atomic Theory, Choose Warrior Code (not met anyone with it )
1869: realize its the zulu's blocking trade with Mongols, send several freights in, get Chivalry from Mongols (i can skip feudalism ), science at 2562 - wonder how high i can get it - following an isolationist policy atm
1871: Zulu ships charge fortress to no avail, 1 vet, barbs hang out near The Mall again, recruit a couple crusaders, Chinese discover warrior code, trade Trade for Warrior Code, exchange maps, find Canton and Nanking are still part of Red China, and that China still doesn't know anyone else either
1872: get a couple more supermarkets going
1873: Leadership, ponder why its offering Feudalism as a tech, choose Nuclear Fission, tech at 2646
1874: deliver Dye(104), opens Wine (137) and gold (to be built at Home next turn) to Karakorum, sell 2 city walls to see if we can get Nuclear Fission this turn in preps for that delivery (watch the gold stop being demanded )
1875: Nuclear Fission, choose Tactics, Gold (416) to Karakorum , try wonderbread trick to unblock gold - worked , barb leader (150), may try at School if Gold doesn't get blocked at Home next turn
1876: gold (424) to Karakorum, Wine unblocked at Karakorum, Wonder Bread frees Gold and Wine respectively
1877: Tactics, choose Genetic Engineering (no other choice), mongol phalanx blocks freight deliveries, sell walls, deliver cloth in hopes of unblocking Dye, and being able to bribe phalanx (602), will make a nice freight starter Cloth (106) Home from Over There, Dye unblocked, can buy phalanx Gold (318, 88, 220), Wine (137) to Karakorum. Gold now traded at Home... ponder options, Greeks have aquired some techs, is down to 2405 beakers, School out of freights so can't free wine, Shopping can free Dye, but no easily deliveries for it, salt (74) to Karakorum, will allow unblocking of gold at Exotic Vacation later, unblock wine at Vacation (its nice to have the gold and the demand for once to do that sort of thing )
1878: Pliny reports I've fallen to 3rd?, Genetic Engineering, choose Machine Tools, Wine (120), Gold(200) to Karakorum, Dye (160) to Exotic Vacation, big catering party for the geneticists while Shopping, fiddle with techs
1879: barb dragoons spawn and land outside War Games, kill 6!!! Engineers, pillage farmland and irrigation I can't even bribe them cause they're stacked on the 2 squares! Crusaders avenge the fallen innocents. President Caesar calls it a terrible act of cowardess and vows to fight terrorism. Flags fly at half staff.
1881: Machine Tools, choose Advanced Flight, Wool(132) to Exotic Vacation
1883: Advanced Flight, Choose Miniaturization, Gems (280) for Shopping
1884: Greeks and Zulus sign Isandhlwana pact? *tries to remember if i have any contact with either *, Dye (139) to Karakorum
1885: Miniaturization, choose Computers
1887: Computers, choose Nuclear Power
1888: Greeks and Mongols sign Athens Pact?
1890: Nuclear Power, choose Rocketry
1892: SETI Program
1893: Rocketry, choose Space Flight
1894: [b]Space Flight[b], choose Plastics
1897: Plastics choose Guerrilla Warfare
1899: Apollo Program, i really needed more freight , hey! i'm finally supreme Chinese finally out populate Red China, Aztecs also only have 2 cites, stare forelornly at 15 untipped huts Zulu's have nearly as many size 12 cities (8) as i have cities (10), of course 3 of mine are size 28+
1900: Vikings build Women's Suffrage, we discover Guerrilla Warfare, choose Laser, build 3 structurals
1901: 2 SSS, 1 SSC
1902: Mongols sneak attack, take out a riflemen, make 2 more vet, 3 more SSS, one Cannon vet from killing a warrior
1903: Zulus and Vikings sign Bapedi Pact..., 4 more SSS, empty Greek frigate thinks there's no place like Home,
1904: Zulus and Aztecs sign Cunaxa Pact..., 1 SSC, 1 SSS, 2 Greek frigate attack Home, 1 dies, 1 takes out Rifleman, bribe 2nd frigate
1905: 2 SSC, 1 SSS
1906: The Laser, choose Superconductor, 1 SSS, Coal (330), Wine (183), Gold (198) to Karakorum, beakers at 3040
1907: Superconductor, choose (ack, no labor fusion power) Labor Union
1909: Labor Union, choose Fusion Power, 2 SSM
1910: Viking and Zulu destroyers spotted on Vacation and outside The Mall
1911: Fusion Power, choose Mobile Warfare, Zulus show off Amphibious Warfare, 1 SSM, Launch (1926 land date)
1917: Chinese discover the wheel!!!
1920: Zulus and Mongols sign Cannae pact, Mongols and Greeks have automobile now, Robotics, ignore science minister's request feudalism and choose Stealth
1921: Stealth choose Amphibious Warfare, beakers at 3280
1922: Vikings send in the Marines, they desert
1924: Vikings and Chinese sign the Shnghai Pact
1926: AC

OK, it was a little more than just highlights - but then i had by far my most successful trading in the 2nd half of the game


Final Thoughts: I probably could have placed my helper cities a little better. Work was the only one that really accomplished the goals of a helper city. Play was under too much stress from the Mongols to do anything worthwhile for the longest time. I never did finish mining the hills around the city, and didn't finish irrigating either. Exotic Vacation was sufficient for an emergency trading colony, but was too small and too close for real bonuses. And i really had absolutely no help whatsoever from the AI. I didn't explore much because of pressure from the Mongols, and the AI never came and found me... China consisted of 1 city (Shanghai) surrounded by cities they had lost to the barbarians for nearly the entire game. My beakers were close to double what I used to get in OCC games - trading with the greeks (or english before they were killed off) would have brought those back in line. The one thing this game was useful for was to get a chance to practice unblocking trade. Also, once i started defending, I started to really grow my other cities and never bothered to change luxuries below 30% (didn't raise them either except for 1 short time). Granted, by the end of the game, my other 9 cities produced about 2x the science of my SSC, but that probably wasn't worth not being able to lower luxuries. Then again, without the larger cities, I would have been wiped out by the Mongols The biggest thing that really slowed me down probably was the not really adhering to any one strategy, and wound up missing out on a couple things i might have wanted (I was considering going for Colossus around the time the Zulu's built it. Anyway, I'm sure I'll have better luck next time, as I have a bit better understanding of what I want to do for trading